The LOLcat Bible

And lo, first there came forth the cute Cat picture, asking Can I Has Cheezeburger?, and it ruled the Internets with billions of page views. And now it comes to pass that the Internet has finally collapsed underneath LOLcat control.

See the LOLcat Bible Translation.

Sample, Genesis 1:1 --

"Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem."

image to underscore the above statement:

FCC & NASCAR Promo Crashes, Again

I wonder if other federal agencies will follow the lead of FCC's Kevin Martin.

Martin (apparently in a decision he hid from his own agency) decided to plop down $350,000 to plaster a car driven by David Gilliland with stickers to promote the 2009 switchover to Digital TV.

The result: not one, but two crashes during NASCAR races, the second causing a 9-car pile-up. Talk about a political plan gone up in smoke.

FCC's Martin, asked about the problems says, winning the races are not the issue:

" ... the cars that are in wrecks get a lot of attention, I think they get a lot of attention during the race itself."

He's set to race again with the FCC logo, though no word yet if he plans to plaster a FEMA Mobile Homes Are Safe sticker, or maybe a Palin In 2012 sticker.

Ricky Bobby: This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons.

Talk Radio Needs You To Be A Victim

Talk radio is bad for you, makes you feel bad about yourself, and success depends on a show's ability to make you angry and miserable.

So says this report, written by a radio insider:

"To succeed, a talk show host must perpetuate the notion that his or her listeners are victims, and the host is the vehicle by which they can become empowered. The host frames virtually every issue in us-versus-them terms. There has to be a bad guy against whom the host will emphatically defend those loyal listeners."
---
"This is a common talk show tactic: If you lack compelling arguments in favor of your candidate or point of view, attack the other side. These attacks often rely on two key rhetorical devices, which I call You Know What Would Happen If and The Preemptive Strike.

Using the first strategy, a host will describe something a liberal has said or done that conservatives disagree with, but for which the liberal has not been widely criticized, and then say, “You know what would happen if a conservative had said (or done) that? He (or she) would have been filleted by the ‘liberal media.’ ” This is particularly effective because it’s a two-fer, simultaneously reinforcing the notion that conservatives are victims and that “liberals” are the enemy.

The second strategy, The Preemptive Strike, is used when a host knows that news reflecting poorly on conservative dogma is about to break or become more widespread."
---
"This brings us to perhaps the most ironic thing about most talk show hosts. Though they may savage politicians and others they oppose, they fear criticism or critiques of any kind. They can dish it out, but they can’t take it."

Take the above as a sort of follow-up to yesterday's post.

The TN Republican Majority - Now What?

With typical disconnected and racially-charged perspectives - a normal tactic from Tennessee GOP Spokesmodel Bill Hobbs - there appears now an odd claim that state voters appeared in droves during last week's election to soundly reject crazy liberal Democrats in the state legislature, yet another example of ignoring reality and fabricating political upheaval.

Time for a reality check.

Facts like the one that the number of Republicans and Democrats were tied (16-16) in the State Senate since 2004 (with one Independent). As for the 2008 races:

-- The Senate battle between Faulk (R) and Williams (I) was a nasty one, loaded with bizarre mudslinging efforts regarding Faulk's dalliance with a staff worker and that Gov. Bredesen and Republican Tony Shipley stumped for Williams - and the finally vote tally showed Faulk with a win of just a few hundred votes, even though Williams won the day in 4 of six counties. Not really a mandate there ... is there?

-- State Senate Republicans running without opposition (or just Independent options) -- 3

Result - Senate has a 19-14 majority. Is this some Brand New Mandate of "Democrats Is Evil"? Perhaps the real story is (as noted for some days by TN bloggers) the state Dem party is lacking any central plan or message, a recipe for failure in a state that has of late gone solidly Republican in Presidential races.)

The State House Republicans picked up a one member majority, with 50 Republicans versus 49 Democrats. It is a limited change in terms of a majority, as Dems fell from a 53-46 lead. One race which helped was the victory of Tony Shipley over incumbent Nathan Vaughn by just over 300 votes. Tricks and games were common in the race, and only just this week we learn a GOP operative had been placed under a judicial restraint order after he had been running bogus websites, alleged to create bogus sites operated by Vaughn and loaded with bizarre claims against him. (News which was unreported until this week.)

The web sites were headed by Scott Glimmer, who is an aide to TN House Republican Chairman Glen Casada. So far, no actions taken against Casada and he may instead get a celebratory dinner from the GOP.

Here's some simple truths - the state's Democrats had been hard hit with charges stemming from corruption claims via a FBI investigation in recent years; incumbent Democrat Governor Phil Bredesen is on the way out, offering little support for the Obama campaign, and doing very little to throw support to statewide races, and the general disorganization from state party leaders. Oh, and just about every political observer was hoping that at long last Democrat House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh would finally get the boot, something I have been in favor of for many years.

However, here in Hamblen County, McCain won by a huge margin - yet incumbent Democrat State Rep. John Litz won with almost as many votes as McCain earned. Lots of split-ticket voting shows that in even in such a staunch Republican stronghold, Democrats can obviously do well.

The new Republican majority in the Legislature says they are eying legislation to change laws regarding "cultural issues". Wait, isn't that some of that Evil Democrat Social Engineering?? Tops on the GOP agenda for new legislation - restricting abortion, funding education about pregnancy prevention, and expanding gun ownership laws. How will any of that aid the plummeting economic problems and falling educational achievement and funding or the constant decline in the state's revenues?

I get the feeling the first months or so in the state legislature will be more about taking down Democrats a few pegs. (See the wacky wingnuttery from Republican poster-boy for nonsense Stacey Campfield:)

"I think it is safe to say that not much that will cost much money is going to move that far. I expect that leaves 140 years of lost freedom and lack of personal responsibility issues to sort out.

Will it be all that conservative?? I would like to think we will be as conservative as the other side has been liberal or allowed liberalism take control of our state.

I have no idea what the heck he is even talking about -- what is the "140 years" of hellish disarray he is talking about? Didn't Dems take the Speaker's post back in 1971?

We would be far better served if the state tackles economic issues, health care funding, education funding, and, as Aunt B. writes:

" ... my point is, now is the time for the Republicans to put their butts on the line for “Life.” Banning abortion doesn’t cost you anything. It’s a feel-good measure that makes it look like you’ve accomplished something, but it doesn’t require you to sacrifice or make any tough decisions.

I challenge you, Republicans: If you’re really pro-life and about protecting the babies, bring down the infant mortality rates in this state."

Save those babies, too.

Do You Want The News Without Viewpoint?

Everyone seems to be super-paranoid about something called media bias, a nagging fear that somehow all the information we get via newspapers and television media has turned into a cesspool of sneering and sly distortion with some nefarious agenda meant to push us into heinous beliefs.

Is this a new concept?

Reason magazine has a story about these media worries, citing a 2007 Pew Research report which says that 67% of Americans "prefer to get news that has no particular point of view". The language here is so deceptive - the fact is that 67% of people who took the survey responded as reported, and that really isn't 67% of Americans. And how can news even have "no particular point of view"?

Anyway, the Reason piece points out the obvious problems with such a survey:

"[This] is a revelation that must have come as a surprise to Rush Limbaugh, Michael Moore, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Matt Drudge, and all the other industry innovators who’ve enjoyed such great success delivering exactly the opposite."

Taking a cue from the online world, the vast majority of news and media websites now include a comments section for every story, and from reading those it is certain the readers proudly herald their biases and views on the story, how it was written, what was or wasn't included, spelling, each other and much more. And other online companies now offer numerous ways to rate, qualify and quantify news stories and make some cash along the way:

"At the nonprofit NewsTrust.net, users collectively evaluate stories based on fairness, context, and other core journalistic principles; the highest-rated stories receive the most prominent positioning on the NewsTrust.net home page. At Skewz.com, users simply judge each story in terms of bias: Does it have a conservative slant or a liberal slant? Over time, Skewz.com uses the feedback from its users to determine a media outlet’s general position on various issues. For example, according to Skewz.com users, the English version of the Al Jazeera website skews “slight right” in its 2008 election coverage.

Then there’s SpinSpotter. The brainchild of Todd Herman, a Seattle entrepreneur with a background in Internet radio and streaming media, the SpinSpotter browser plug-in lets you visit virtually any website and hack it up like Tina Brown channeling Freddy Krueger. Find a specific phrase or sentence that fails to pass your spin sniff test, then create a SpinSpotter “marker” for it. When other SpinSpotter users visit the page, a crimson slash of warning highlights the passage. A click on it yields your explanation for why it qualifies as spin and your version of how the text ought to read.

To keep users on track, SpinSpotter has designated “seven deadly spins” that are fair game for media bloodhounds.

I've been noticing - and have been totally repulsed by - some recent choices on the CNN network to make news a sort of free-wheeling, Jerry Springer-type opinion brawl on news reports which seem to have little purpose beyond stirring up intense conversation based on a bare minimum of information.

Some examples on CNN are the new "Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull" show, but some of the worst offenders on the network are the Headline News shows "Prime News" and "Nancy Grace". The "Prime News" website says host Mike Galanos:

" ... uses the day's most powerful headlines as a starting point for diverse perspectives and spirited debate. In each show, Galanos challenges newsmakers and experts to help viewers gain a clearer understanding of the "right vs. wrong" conflict playing out across the country every day."

Yeah, right. That's one way to put it. But the actual show is mostly a circus of half-truths and maybes which offer no context of any kind and merely trot out events to be torn apart like slaves in a Roman coliseum full of starving tigers.

Nancy Grace is also just a skeezy game for armchair prosecutors hurling crap on a wall and waiting to see what sticks (and what generates viewer frenzies). Shows like these are the lowest end of the low end. It all seems geared to one end: gaining popularity in order to make more advertising dollars.

I honestly don't mind that a persistent viewpoint is given in news reports or on those talk shows. While readers and viewers are passive receivers (at first) then follows (hopefully) some actual thought -- opinion is offered but it's actual value has to be determined by those who receive it. A news report or talk show is not some Holy Form handed down from the Perfection of Heaven.

Truth these days is perceived in the most ludicrous of emails ("Microsoft will pay you to send email" or "Obama is the Antichrist!") -- which makes me think of the old traveling snake oil sales shows. A crowd usually gathers around such spectacles, although in the past, that same crowd might just decided to tar and feather the salesman and run them out of town. Some crowds, however, gulp down dubious elixirs and cheer the salesman as saint.

Snarky Responses To Headlines

Pelosi Calls For US Auto Bailout
-- alternate report: Final Days of Bush Presidency and Everything Must Go Sale!!

Saudi Arabia Sues Cigarette Importers for $34 Billion
- next up: Medically Obese Population to Sue Makers of Couches, Corn Syrup

Another Celebrity Goes Home on Dancing With The Stars
- come on, times are really tough, so why not turn this into a Depression-era-style Dance Marathon, where the celebs must dance around the clock until they all drop from exhaustion, then the winner is able to qualify for a federal bailout plan.

McCain: Palin Will 'Play Big Role In The Future Of Our Country'
- It's Alive! It's Aliiiiiive!!

Roger Moore Dislikes New James Bond
- one word: 'Moonraker'

SEE ALSO: Great Headline Writing - Not!

Wally Goes To The Louvre; Eggleston Goes To The Whitney

The sculpture you see here is by Tony Dow, who is known worldwide for playing Wally, brother to The Beaver, on the old "Leave It To Beaver" TV show. Tony's work has also just been selected for a show at the Louvre in Paris. No, I'm not "giving you the business" about that. Here's the news. The image shown is of the sculpture which will greet the Paris art world, called "Unnamed Warrior".

From his statement about his work at the Karen Lynne Gallery:

"My sculpture derives from whatever has passed through or by me; a culmination of my experiences; what I’ve seen, what I’m drawn to. The figures are abstract and not meant to represent reality but rather the truth of the interactions as I see and feel them. I find the wood in he hills of Topanga Canyon and each piece evolves from my subconscious."

I like his view about creativity and art - all of us construct our lives from all the bits and pieces we experience and generate through just living life. And there's something kind of cool about Wally - sorry, I mean Tony - getting a showing in Paris.

Another artist, photographer William Eggleston, who has called Memphis, Tennessee home for many many years has just opened a massive retrospective show, titled "Democratic Camera", at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. For the last 40 years he has created a prolific collection of photos which truly changed the art world and the way the art of photography is defined.

The Memphis Commerical Appeal did a story recently about Eggleston which is a great read. Eggleston is rather humble about his work, but for me the way he uses color and composition, line and form, captured in some very ordinary but extraordinary images of the everyday world is so simple and so profound all at once. One major change he gave to the art world was the notion that it was OK to use color in photography. And he captures images of the world without really arranging items or posing them, taking them as they are instead. You will seldom see people in his photos, but every image is something made or abandoned or used by people, as if it were taken in just that moment when someone left or just before they arrived.

His influence is huge - just go browse through the tens of thousands of images people have created and uploaded to the Flickr website.

I've always liked this photo by Eggleston:



Eudora Welty, in her introduction to his collection "The Democratic Forest" says:

"He has photographed every tell-tale thing we leave behind us, from leaking oil to spilled Coca-Cola. He has looked up and caught the emanations of the Great Smoky Mountains, and a mist very like a ghost that appears to be drifting over a graveyard and near Oxford, Mississippi. In photographing ivy crowding over a wall, in commotion as lively as a townful of Breughel peasants, he has got a picture of a country breeze. He moves his camera close upon a great worldly peony; our glimpse into that is as good as a visit: a bloom so full-open and spacious that we could all but enter it, sit down inside and be served tea. It was photographed, according to the caption, on the Boston Common across from the Ritz Hotel--which is the next thing to photographing an analogy."

Explore his work at his website, EgglestonTrust.Com.

That Rug Really Tied The Room Together

While the chattering cable news folk jabber about the fact that a meeting is taking place today between the current and the next president, one fact stands out -- the advice Obama is likely to get first and foremost from President Bush is "pick your rug carefully".

"Bush has told this story hundreds of times, on the stump, to foreign dignitaries, and in media interviews in the White House. He insists the rug says "optimistic person." Former White House communications director Nicolle Wallace noted the president's carpet fixation, telling the Washington Post a while back, 'He loves his rug.'

"I'd bet just about anything that it's the first thing Bush talks about when Obama enters the room."

As for what's taking the priority in Obama's mind - rolling back not just the rug, but the policies of the last 8 years.

Teens Hold Vigil Against Violence at Knox Mall

In the last few months, shocking and sudden shooting attacks have taken place in a church and a mall in Knoxville. On Sunday, as reported in this Knoxville News Sentinel article, a group of teens and adults held a vigil at the Knoxville Center Mall to raise awareness about gun violence and to mourn and memorialize the victims. An organizer and speaker at Sunday's event was a 14 year old girl named Sumaiya Hussain, and for me she stands as a pretty courageous and articulate person.

Taking a very public position such as they did is no easy task - they open themselves to all manner of reactions. But I certainly respect their desire to counter violent episodes with expressions of peace and a call for greater harmony.

On Friday, a couple of fellows took to the streets of Knoxville wearing KKK outfits, strolling about for a few hours. While they held no signs (as far as I could tell from reports like this one from Katie), I don't think they were there to call for peace and harmony. (More reaction here at KnoxViews.)

And yes, you can say both events were exercises in "freedom of speech", the mall vigil was far more valuable to the community. The sidewalk display offered little of value, other than offering folks a chance to eyeball some people with dubious character.

It would serve Knoxville and the state much better if more focus were placed on events like the one at the mall. Kudos to the KNS for making the vigil a page one story.

Camera Obscura; Morristown's Ballet Movie Premieres; Ultra-Groovy 60s Movies; New Futurama on DVD

On Saturday at Rose Center's Perk Prater Hall, a movie premiere will be held for "Morristown - A Ballerina Love Story". It was all shot in town, especially amidst the old Downtown area and on the overhead sidewalks, and at Ashley Cunningham's Dance Studio. The movie is already available on DVD, which you can order here at the film's web site.

The story follows several dancers and their passions on and off the dance floor and it looks like a fine bit of work. WBIR reported on the story and offered this behind the scenes look at the film. The showing in Morristown Saturday is at 1:30 pm, no admission charge. Here's a trailer:


Best of luck to these very talented performers.

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The first theatrical film version of the James Bond novel "Casino Royale" from 1967 boast a 1960s cast of huge stars (Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, David Niven, Woody Allen), has 6 James Bonds, was written and directed by half a dozen pros, and gets a new special DVD release this week.

The eye-popping visuals are matched with an excellent score by Burt Bacharach and some truly wild story twists and turns as it spoofs the Bond genre. I've always liked the movie -- not because it is great, but simply because it is so ambitious and (at times) a spectacular failure. This new disc captures the movie and the experience of making it quite well:

Was it censored, assembled from bits by Frankenstein, or did everyone quit halfway through? The answer, courtesy of an exhaustive disc docu and commentary is, "All of the Above."

It includes the ultra-weird performance of Deborah Kerr as M's wife, a Scottish matriarch whose madness is so hammy it could fill an entire deli. Take a peek if you've never seen this Technicolor trip of a lifetime:



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Speaking of ultra-trippy 60s movies, you can catch the amazing version of Marlowe's classic play Doctor Faustus from 1967 on Turner Classic Movies at 6:15 pm. The movie was made after Burton had a highly successful run of the stage play and was made at the height of the frenzied tabloid reporting on his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor, who plays Helen of Troy in the movie.

Cinebeats has a great write-up on the movie and it's history here. As she writes:

"Together with the skilled international crew that included cinematographer Gábor Pogány, this group of creative people helped give Doctor Faustus an impressive look and stunning visual style even though most of the film was seemingly shot on rather small sets. Horror fans who enjoy Roger Corman’s Poe films, Hammer studio productions and Mario Bava’s Italian thrillers might be surprised by how much Burton’s Doctor Faustus seems to resemble horror films from the same period."


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The third of four Futurama movies has arrived on DVD, titled "Bender's Game".

I love this series so much, and I've liked all the movies, despite some shortcomings. This time, the wise-cracking Bender leaps into the world of Dungeons & Dragons as he tries to create a sense of imagination within his circuits, and yes, hilarious and crazed results follow.

The makers of the show continue to excel at sci-fi comedy, and there just ain't much of that around ... well, comedy sci-fi on purpose.

Also worth noting on DVD is the result of the very obscure TV show "Quark", starring Richard Benjamin, from 1977, created by Buck Henry. The show is almost indescribable, but I have friends who just loved it and quote it to this day.

This review of the DVD set tries to capture the plot-line:

"Set in the year 2222, Adam Quark (Richard Benjamin), captain of the interstellar garbage scow, the United Galaxies Sanitation Patrol Cruiser, scours the Milky Way, seeking out...space baggies full of trash. Relegated to the most prosaic of United Galaxy duties, Quark longs for adventure and excitement as the captain of his own star cruiser, but for now, cleaning up other people's mess is his main assignment - that is, until "The Head" starts giving him more dangerous assignments (often by default, since no one else is out in the middle of nowhere more often than Quark), missions that Quark often lucks his way into completing.

Aiding Quark in his unconventional missions are his, to say the least, unconventional crew members. Ficus Pandorata (Richard Kelton) is the ship's science officer, an emotionless Vegeton (plant humanoid) who engages in endlessly convoluted philosophical discussions with Adam. Betty One and Betty Two (Cyb and Patricia Barnstable) are the gorgeous navigators and pilots of the ship. One of the Bettys is a clone (both of them deny it), and both are in love with Adam - only Adam can't determine who the "real" Betty is, and thus, keeps his distance. The ship's engineer is Gene/Jean (Tim Thomerson), a "transmute" with a complete set of both male and female chromosomes."

I say give it a look - it's an amazing bit of TV which TV was never ready for.

Calming The Hysterical Conservative

I did not want to post anything today about politics or President-elect Obama .... however.

There remains this bitter denial of reality from the Conservative Right for the decisive choice made this week by the majority of Americans.

Fervent expressions of shock, disgust and other howling tantrums from the Right might best be addressed by this video which Metulj offered on KnoxBlab:



At this point, cable news, talk radio and much of the online world need a Time Out, if only so the rest of us can get a little peace and quiet and go on with our lives.

Be sure to Read This Post from DeMarCaTionVille for a Reality Check:

"It wasn’t the firecrackers tossed in my driveway that caused me to cringe, but the words. It probably caused some of you to cringe seeing it typed out here… because no matter how many times you have seen or heard it and regardless of who pushes it forth - this word will never completely lose it’s power to shock, offend or leave some feeling as though they’ve been punched in the stomach by centuries of history.

Of course, these were just mouthy high school kids - little boys and not very bright ones at that since they had picked the minority family on a dead-end street, meaning they’d have to turn around the circle at the end of the subdivision and bring their narrow-butts right back by my house.

I was angry nonetheless.

I was so angry that I grabbed my car keys and headed out the door, intending to set up my own a road block, take names, call Mamas and the police. If necessary, I’d involve the National Damn Gaurd, the ACLU and the DOJ. Also, suspecting that I knew one of the car’s occupants, I absolutely meant to cut a switch from a tree and whip his half-grown ass myself… because I’m sure his Daddy wouldn’t mind.

In the end, however, I didn’t do any of those things."

Exit Polls Analysis in Tennessee

Some reasons and trends in Tennessee voting:


"Tellingly, a 52 percent majority of those voting Tuesday in Tennessee where whites who described themselves as evangelical or “born again” Christians. And of these white evangelical voters, fully three-fourths (75 percent) voted for McCain. McCain drew just 36 percent support among the 48 percent of Tennessee voters who were not white evangelicals.

“It’s likely that ‘values’ in the context of Tennessee’s presidential election meant ‘white, evangelical Christian values,’” Blake said. In Edison Media Research’s national exit polling, white evangelicals made up a relatively smaller 23 percent of voters. But, as in Tennessee, about three-fourths of white evangelicals across the nation favored McCain.

“Change,” the key theme of Obama’s campaign, appeared to lack resonance with Tennessee voters, according to fellow MTSU pollster Dr. Jason Reineke.

"Other exit poll findings include:

• Obama won among Tennesseans age 18 to 29, but these represented only about 14 percent of those voting. McCain won among voters 30 and older.
• Obama won among African Americans, but McCain won among whites.
• Most Tennessee voters (61 percent) said they had made up their minds sometime before September.
• Obama won among those who disapprove of George W. Bush. McCain won among those who approve of Bush.
• McCain won among the state’s wealthier voters – those earning $50,000 or more. McCain and Obama basically tied among voters earning less.
• Most (72 percent) said the race of the candidates was not a factor for them. But among those who called it an important factor or the most important factor, most went for McCain.
• Obama won in urban areas. McCain won in the suburbs and in rural areas.


Pollsters Blake and Reineke are director and associate director, respectively, of the MTSU Poll, a twice-annual, scientifically valid public opinion poll of Tennessee adults. The most recent MTSU Poll was conducted in September 2008. See: http://www.mtsusurveygroup.org.

More info is available here.

Victory For All Americans

I haven't ever seen anything like that crowd at Grant Park in Chicago last night. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered to celebrate not a candidate or political party or even a campaign, but to celebrate a victory for Americans who have a vision for a better future, a better nation and a better world.

Liveblogging The Election Returns

UPDATE 01: Just in case the night is more than you can handle, some advice on a variety of beverage recipes and Candidate Cocktails based on your candidate of choice here.

UPDATE 02: A flood of returns should start rolling in very soon - I'll post the local returns in Hamblen County, but also have results for the 1st District Congressional race too. The city of Morristown is considering a referendum for liquor by the drink, which almost passed in 2003, but I'd bet the referendum fails by a larger number this time around. County by county returns in Tennessee will be posted here at the state site as soon as they get the info.

UPDATE 03: Early voting results in Hamblen County: 12,666 votes cast in early votes
Liquor By The Drink - Yes: 2,733 No: 2,580
Sales Tax Increase - No 4,069 Yes 3,079
1st District Congress (D) Russell - 29% (R) Roe - 66%
Obama - 30.6% McCain - 68%

UPDATE 04: About 4 precincts reporting, with the local results
Liquor By The Drink -- Yes 3517 No 3235
Sales Tax -- No 4471 Yes 3328

Looks like the city may just get their long-sought-for LBTD sales, and the county is rejecting a sales tax increase. For national offices, the Republicans continue to dominate.

UPDATE 05: Final Hamblen County results:
LBTD passes with Yes 4525 No 4098
Sales tax increase defeated with No 8316 Yes 5556
John Litz (D) unopposed is re-elected
Roe 66%
Russell 30%
Obama 30%
McCain 68%

Looking at the national results, it looks like NC, FL, PA and OH are in Obama's corner. Results will take more time to settle out, but the Senator from Illinois may become the next president. Stay tuned for more info as soon as it is available.

UPDATE 06: A resounding win, much as expected, for Phil Roe (R) against Rob Russell (D), with Roe taking some 72% of the vote according to the AP. Overall, solid wins so far in the Congress for Democrats. As the pundits on MSNBC reported, the one region of the country with a solid Republican block in Congress is on the South. Sigh.

Conservatives On The Way Out

I tend to think the result of today's election will be the rejection of the howling lunacy masquerading as political debate which dominates the Republican/Conservative movement.

For well over a dozen-plus years, they have leapt forward to demonize anyone who might voice opposition to their ideas. Rather than debate any issue on merits, the Hate Machine rolls over anything in it's way.

Two recent examples -

-- The Freepers who see conspiracy in the death of Sen. Obama's grandmother

-- The Tennessee GOP spokesman Bill Hobbs, who lives far too close to racism.

I am optimistic that Americans will vote for a new direction in political discourse and in government, away from division, distraction, delusion and the dictates of a vocal minority.

Bush OKs Appalachian Disaster

President Bush took action this week with more than 90 new laws deregulating rules put in place for public safety. He approved measures which will insure dirty drinking water, dirty air and decreased counter-terror operations.

The Washington Post reported on the story Thursday. Removing rules governing the "mountaintop removal" method of coal mining means more coal slurry will end up in drinking water in the Appalachian region. It's a haphazard approach blurred into "energy policy" actions which in reality dumps more waste, increases health problems, and destroys the Appalachian region.

The destruction has been widespread for some time and these new laws will make it worse:

"Almost everything that isn't coal is pushed down into the valleys below. As a result, 6,700 "valley fills" were approved in central Appalachia between 1985 and 2001. The U.S. EPA estimates that over 700 miles of healthy streams have been completely buried by mountaintop removal and thousands more have been damaged. Where there once flowed a highly braided system of headwater streams, now a vast circuitry of haul roads winds through the rubble. From the air, it looks like someone had tried to plot a highway system on the moon."

Why is it OK to punish the Appalachian region?

"Urban affluence and this country's shortsighted energy policy are making Appalachia a poorer place -- poorer in beauty, poorer in health, poorer in resources, and poorer in spirit.

"This wouldn't go on in New England," Jack Spadaro told me last July, up at Larry Gibson's place. It wouldn't go on in California, nor Florida, nor along the East Coast. After the '60s, America and the mainstream media seemed to lose interest in the problems of Appalachia. Though the Martin County slurry pond disaster was 20 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill, The New York Times ignored it for months. But the seeming invisibility of the people in Appalachia does not make their plight any less real."

The blog Facing South has been following this problem for some time with posts you can read here. Just as residents and other concerned groups have been bringing these issues to light, the new laws provided by President Bush will bury them under tons of debris and changing the law to protect the lives of so many will now take major Congressional and Presidential efforts to repeal. In the meantime, money trumps safety and more of our region will be lost forever in this greedy struggle.

Camera Obscura: Weirdest Halloween Candy; Scariest Halloween Ever

The fear is palpable. Ominous winds blow cold and harsh, and bitter despair and endless melodrama mark the last days of the 2008 presidential election. Change - of any kind - awaits us as we move away from the bleak failures of the past 8 years and it grips voters whose future Fates continue to be just unknown and unknowable. Nov. 4th is the scariest day of this year for some.

Whispered rumors of the Democrats reaching for elected authority turn now to shrieks of sheer horror as The End approaches. The horror, the horror. A prophecy of secret socialism and grim predictions of the end of Boy Scouting and the Rise of Gayness chill the barely beating heart of the Republican party. It's cheesy overacting worthy of the most amateurish B-movies ever made.Yes, Halloween '08 has dire shadows made by voting machines and not by hordes of costumed creatures wandering the streets in search of sweets.

Even the candy one might receive for trick or treats seems odd this year - more than usual.

The list of the Weirdest Halloween Candy includes such items as:

Spider Sacs

Flesh Fries and Chili Fingers

Zit Poppers

A full list and review of these oddities can be found here. And trust me, I did not show images on this page of the really nasty stuff (that might be chocolate in that diaper, but I would not eat it.)
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Here are a few more treats for you this Halloween:

A vast collection of some classic, some new and some just awful horror movies are yours for free viewing at Fancast. From "Night of the Living Dead" to "Blacula" and "The Giant Gila Monster" are here and many more.
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A fine list of more obscure scares to view at Bloody Disgusting.
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The Ultimate Mystery Science Theater 3000 collection is now available.
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And finally, the effects of staking a vampire - remember to put down some newspapers on the floor first:

Horrifying Sounds of Halloween

Looking for hauntingly good music for Halloween?

A good start for classic and brand new tunes can be found at YouLicense, which offers music by category tags. From Bach's Toccata Fugue in D Minor to the spooky lyrics of Green Man's "Tell Mama." Link.

The same site also includes musical selections based on what your weather might be, your momentary mood, by many categories and styles. Check them out.

Many famous horror movies get revisited for Halloween, and the soundtracks which accompany them often make indelible impressions on audiences. While Bernard Herrmann earns high marks for his work on Hitchcock's movies, like "Psycho" and John Carpenter's theme for "Halloween" is as famous as the film, one of my favorites was James Bernard.

Bernard scored just about all the great ones from the Hammer Films - sweeping and epic orchestrations which stab and sting, often rolling with thunderous drums and still able to at times evoke pastoral scenes or mysterious gothic shadows. Here's a brief compilation of some of his work:

Large Early Voting In Hamblen County

Today, for the first time ever, I had to wait in line to cast my ballot. Estimated turnout is going to easily pass the number of votes cast county-wide in the February primary which saw 40.8% of voters going to the polls.

The state has county by county totals here. Hamblen County started this day at just over 11,000 votes cast, and judging by the long line of 50 or so folks around noon today, the county may set a record turnout for the 2008 race. Local ballot issues are driving voters to the polls as well.

First is another attempt by the city to adopt a liquor-by-the-drink ordinance, which failed by around 200 votes a few years back. Hard-line opposition has been quite strong and I suspect the referendum will fail by an even larger margin this time. I would dearly love to be wrong about that.

The other ballot referendum is for county residents on approving or rejecting a .25% sales tax increase. The measure failed in February, and then was passed this summer in the city. I'd say this is going to be close, but since most residents who shop are paying extra when they shop locally anyway, it may just win this time around. However, it doesn't seem fair to me to place a proposed tax increase on the ballot again and again in the same year, putting more and more pressure on those who said No to change their vote to Yes. But it happens often in our area, so my best projection says it will pass this time around.

This county will send a big majority of votes to John McCain, without a doubt. Sen. Clinton took the primary here with over 68% of the vote and Obama earning 22%. Will the Clinton supporters close ranks and support Obama? Most likely, yes. But a large conservative base turnout among church-goers who are fighting the liquor-by-the-drink referendum will all go for McCain, and he'll take the county. McCain will carry the state, too, but outside of Tennessee there's mostly gains for Obama and losses for McCain. (Just my observations on national polls - your view will differ, I'm sure.)

Republicans in the county will also send a good chunk of votes to 1st Congressional District candidate Phil Roe - but I expect Democrat Rob Russell will gain sizable majorities in some larger counties. However, his victory among the smaller counties in the district is unlikely - 130 years of a solid Republican grip on that Congressional seat is nearly impossible to change. However, I think Russell has the best chance of any candidate in many decades in changing that long-running status. My projection is their race is too close to call. Russell has to win Washington and Sullivan counties and at least one other smaller county.

I did notice that all in line with me today were being quite friendly, and many spoke of how good it was to see a large turnout.

Also, I will be live-blogging the returns from Hamblen County and other east TN counties on Tuesday and updating often with results.

Science and Learnin' Be All Evil, Says Palin/McCain

Perhaps one day we could apply some scientific methodology and discover how serious-minded people in 2008 really supported the Palin nomination and whispered dreams of her future presidency. I get the feeling should she ever gain actual authority, Science will be outlawed.

In a recent stump speech, she said more could be done for special needs children, like those suffering from autism, by stopping the funding of what she called "fruit fly research' which does little or nothing for the public good. The research she sneered at (as crowds cheer the sneer) in fact has helped identify specific proteins on nerve-cell connections, and offers possible advances in, among other things, autism. So her plan to promote research to alleviate suffering from autism is to end research which could alleviate suffering from autism.

With that kind of bold policy decision, she must just be double-plus-good Smart in ways Science cannot measure.

Her would-be boss, John McCain, also can't grasp either truth or education or science. He made a catchy campaign blurb to make fun of Sen. Obama's request for financial aid for the planetarium in Chicago, calling it a wasteful cost for an "overhead projector". Wrong.

First, he claims the proposal cost 3 million dollars when it really was for 4.8 million dollars. Second, the measure never passed, and third, the item sought was:

"The one-ton, 10-feet-long instrument is the central component of the Adler, the first planetarium ever built in the Western Hemisphere. It projects the night sky on the dome of the Sky Theater at the planetarium, which has hosted more than 35 million people since it opened, including more than 400,000 schoolchildren every year. In fact, the request -- made by Obama along with others in the Illinois congressional delegation, including three Republicans -- wasn't granted.

If it had been, it wouldn't have been a waste of government money. The National Academy of Sciences has targeted science education as a key goal in preserving the economic competitiveness of our nation. Similar "overhead projectors" in Los Angeles and New York have recently been replaced with the help of federal funds."

Hoo-boy.

At this rate, I'd expect them to start demanding NASA use diet Coke and Mentos as propulsion systems in the space program.